Former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin has one bit of advice for the GOP ticket: “Don’t play it safe.”
But Palin did just that on TODAY Tuesday when she hedged on endorsing a candidate in the Republican contest — even as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears likely to clinch the nomination.
Matt Lauer pressed Palin, who since her national debut during the 2008 elections has become a poster girl for vocal conservatives, to say whether she’d endorse Romney.
Palin punted.
“Anything is still possible, there can still be a bit of a shakeup, but the numbers are what the numbers are,” Palin said, adding, “Anybody running on that GOP ticket would be better than Obama.”
But when asked whether she would prefer to see a candidate with a bit more vim and vigor on the ticket, Palin cautioned: “There is no perfect candidate, and I would warn individuals never to put their faith wholly in a politician because that politician will disappoint you.”
Palin would know.
The former Wasilla mayor and Alaska governor was plucked from relative obscurity during the 2008 elections after operatives for Republican nominee John McCain realized the so-called “mama grizzly” resonated well with conservatives. Palin and her family were thrust into the harsh glare of the national spotlight.
On Tuesday, Palin focused on what she sees as President Barack Obama’s failures in the White House. Though the economy is making a slow comeback, Palin, like House Speaker John Boehner, who appeared on TODAY last week, feels that recovery “could be a lot better.”
And she offered a bit of caution for whoever ends up heading up the GOP ticket: “They’re going to get clobbered by the lamestream media.”
Lauer reminded Palin that as a TODAY show co-host, she’s “part of the lamestream media.”
Halimah Abdullah is the site's woman in Washington.
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